Irish Women's Letters Home: An Employment Agency

Arguably one of the most important sources available today in order to comprehend the importance of female Irish immigrants are their letters home to loved ones in Ireland. On the surface they appear to tell tales of courage, danger, risk, homesickness, relief, warning, and assimilation; on a deeper level, these letters seem to represent more than a female perspective: they themselves were a "pull" factor that influenced more Irish to immigrate to the United States (1).